Transportation of cylindrical objects



0d. 15, 1940. MQQN 2,218,316

- TRANSPORTATION 0F CYLINDRICAL OBJECTS Filed Oct. 17, 1938 Patented Oct. 15, 1940 ANSPORTATION or oc'rs John M. Moon, Middletown, @hio, assignor to Signode Steel Strapping Company, Chicago,

, a corporation of Delaware Application October 17, 1938, Serial No. 235,380

Claims.

My invention relates to the transportation of cylindrical objects.

It will be illustrated and explained as embodied in the transportation of rolls of paper in railway cars.

Cylindrical objects, such as rolls of news print, book, magazine and wrapping paper, barrels, drums, and the like, are commonly shipped in railway cars according to two methods of loading. By one method, which can be termed the fixed load method, the objects are braced or blocked in position in the car with the idea of preventing movement between the load and the car. By the other method, which can be termed the floating load method, the objects are bound together into one or more relatively large groups or units which are left more or less free to shift during transit. Often there is considerable advantage in shipping the objects standing on their ends.

The fixed load method is unsatisfactory, because the bracing often breaks and rolls are apt to ride up over floor-blocking when severe impacts or jolts are experienced. Relatively delicate goods, such as paper, is thus frequently seriously damaged. The floating load method is superior in this respect, but one difliculty is not infrequently encountered with both methods. Thus, if the bracing or blocking fails to hold the load constituents together and in fixed position relative to the car, and in the normal movement of the load units when the shifting load method is employed, it is frequently found that at destination rolls have become so tightly jammed 35 against the car doors that the doors can be opened only with difilculty and in opening them the rolls jammed thereagainst are damaged.

The principal object of my invention is to reduce damage to loads during transit-particularly loads of relatively delicate material, such as rolls of paper.

Another object is to facilitate the loading and the unloading of cylindrical objects which, for any reason, it is desired to ship standing on end.

Another object of this invention is to prevent the load or any constituents thereof from moving into contact with car doors during transit.

A further object is to provide a load of cylindrical objects standing on end which may be 50 easily and relatively inexpensively produced.

Qther objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In accordance with my invention the cylindrical objects (for example, rolls of paper) standing on end are, in efiect, segregated into two or more groups which are retained in the group relationship by one or more pairs of what may be termed key rolls held in wedging relation to rolls of different groups by one or more tensloned binders that encircle each pair of "key rolls and cross 5 between them. Each binder which unites a pair of key rolls thus assumes essentially the form of a figure 8.

The accompanying drawing illustrates typical loads of roll-paper formed in accordance with 0 my invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a top plan of one typical load in a box car employing one pair of key rolls;

Fig. 2 is a top plan of another typical load 5 employing one pair of key rolls;

Fig. 3 is a top plan of a typical load employing two pairs or sets of key rolls;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged top plan of a part of a. one-pair key roll arrangement showing more in detail how the binders are applied to the key rolls, and

Fig. 5 is a cross-section through two key rolls showing particularly a binder retainer that may often prove advantageous.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the side and end walls S and E, respectively, and the doorways D of a box car are indicated. The cylindrical objects for example, rolls of paper-are loaded into each end of the car substantially to fill the floor spaces from the ends to the doorways with two groups of rolls G and G. 'I'heposition and relation to each other of the rolls constituting each group may differ and will depend upon the relation between the inside width of the car and the outside diameters of the rolls and between the length of the car to the doorways and the diameters of the rolls. Thus, in the typical load shown in Fig. 1, this relation is such that each end of the car can be substantially filled up to the doorways with three longitudinal rows, each row having five rolls; and the rolls constituting adjacent rows are nested or staggered so that they fit together in a wedging relationship. Between the two roll-groups G and G a pair of key rolls 5 and 6 are positioned. Both key rolls are placed in staggered or nested relationship to what may be termed the terminal rolls 1 and 8 of the respective groups G and G.

If the car may be readily loaded through both doorways, both of the group terminal rolls may be set in place before the key rolls are positioned. Where, however, it is necessary or desirable to load the car through only one doorwayfor example, the one shown at the top of Fig. l-it will 55 be advisable to place the key rolls adjacent the opposite doorway (in this instance the key roll 6) before either of the terminal rolls 1 and 8 are moved into the car. In such case, after the key roll 6 is placed in its approximately final position, the terminal rolls 1 and 8 are placed and finally the key roll is moved in and positioned.

After all of the rolls constituting each group are positioned and the-terminal and key rolls are approximately located, the key rolls are encircled or looped by one or more flexible binders 8-such as steel fiat strap or wireeach passed horizontally thereabout and crossed in the space therebetween essentially in the form of a figure 8. Each binder is then tightly tensioned to bind or clamp the two key rolls as closelytogether as their nested or wedging relation to the terminal rolls of the two groups will permitpreferably the tensioning is done by a strap or wire tensioning tool or so-called stretcher-and then the ends of each looped binder are secured together in any suitable manner, such as by a seal-joint ID, to make the loop permanent.

Of course, if the objects are of such a delicate nature as paper rolls, it will be advisable to protect the key rolls against chafing by the binder. This may be done by interposing one or more layers of paper, cloth or the like between the surfaces of the rolls and the binders.

In this manner the key rolls, becaue of their nested and wedging relation to the two groupterminal rolls, hold the two groups separated and retain the rolls of each group in the relationship in which they were loaded. The tighter the rolls of each group fit together and into their respective ends of the car, the less will be the movement during transit. However, it is not necessary and usually it will be impossible to wedge so tightly together the rolls constituting each group and the key rolls with the terminal rolls that all-or even an appreciable amountof movement of the load will be prevented. As a matter of fact, the movements of the rolls needs be limited only to such extent that under no conditions can the staggered or nested relationship between the key and terminal rolls be destroyed. Individual roll and group movements less than sufiicient to destroy the staggered or nested relationship between key and terminal rolls may be advantageous since such movements willby absorbing shocks in transit-reduce the liability of damage.

Fig. 2 shows a plan view of a roll arrangement made advisable by a different relation between the inside dimensions of the car and the diameters of the rolls. Here, again, the rolls are placed in groups GG' in opposite ends of the car and up into the space between the doorways D. At the doorways, however, this arrangement presents two sets'of terminal rolls l5l6 and l1--l8 with which the two key rolls 5 and i are nested and wedged. In this case, as in the case previously described, the key rolls are tightly held in their nested and wedging relation to the group-terminal rolls by one or more horizontal tensioned binders 9 disposed thereabout and crossed therebetween substantially in the shape of a figure 8.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 3, the relationship between car dimensions and roll diameters is such that the car can be fully loaded to best advantage by using two pairs or sets of key rolls 56 and 5'--6 and with a central roll interposed therebetween. Here, again, each set or pair of key rolls is held in wedging relationship to the group-terminal rolls |-l by cross tensioned binders 9 disposed thereabout and crossed therebetween in substantially the form of the figure 8.

Fig. 4 illustrates in somewhat greater detail how each binder 9 encompassing the key rolls '5 and 6 retains them in nesting and wedging relation to the group-terminal rolls.

By my arrangement and use of key rolls and interconnecting binders in figure 8 shape the loads can be moved out of the doorway at destination without it being necessary first to move other rolls. Sometimes with previous methods such difficulty was experienced in unloading due to the rolls shifting during transit in such a way that there was no roll that could be removed from the car without first shifting other rolls so as to provide a gap sufiiciently wide to enable a roll to be moved therethrough. Also, the arrangement effectively prevents rolls from becoming tightly wedged against both car doors and consequently the difliculties heretofore mentioned incident to such wedging are overcome. Furthermore, the full capacity of a car may be utilized, because none of the available space is taken by bracing and the like. The use of the binder disposed about and between key rolls in substantially the form of a figure 8 insures that the key rolls can never separate more than their initial separation and assists in insuring that they retain their nested and wedging relation to the group-terminal rolls. Binders merely looped and tensioned about the key rolls and with the portions therebetween lying more or less parallel (as distinguished from having the binders cross between the key rolls) would be so deflected from straight lines by having to pass partly around the group-terminal rolls that, should the terminal rolls become slightly displaced, the key rolls could separate more than the initial separation. Such excessive separation of the key rolls might injuriously loosen the load.

Fig. 5 shows how a retainer for preventing thekey-roll binder from slipping down the rolls may be used to advantage. Such a precaution may be especially advisable where the key rolls are spaced rather far apart and, as a result, the key-roll binder may tend to become somewhat loose. The retainers may be formed from pieces of wire, each having an offset end 26 which may be set into the core-hole of a key roll and then extending over the top of the keyroll down, for example, to the crossing of the binder between the key rolls, and then bent or looped about the binder at or in the vicinity of the cross. By providing two such retainers for each key-roll binder, the binders will be effectively prevented from sagging and slipping down the key-rolls. If the key-rolls are closer together only one retainer per binder may be found sufficient,--or they may be unnecessary altogether. And the end of the retainer opposite the end in the core-hole may be applied to the binder at some other place than at the cross between the key rolls.

Of course, if feasible and desirable, other objects can be loaded upon those standing on the car floor. Rolls, for example, can be double decked. the rolls constituting the upper deck or layer being grouped and key-rolled together as heretofore described. Or the objects forming the upper deck or layer can be bound together in a group or groups by binders encircling the entire group and permitted to shift relative to the objects forming the lower layer or deck.

Having thus illustrated and described several typical embodiments of my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is as follows:

1. A transportation load of cylindrical objects standing on end in a railway car comprising a plurality of cylindrical objects standing on end and forming two groups, the objects in each group standing in nested relationship and substantially filling one end of the car and extending into the space between the car doorways, a pair of key cylindrical objects standing on end in the space between the car doorways and nesting with rolls in each of the aforesaid groups, and a flexible tensioned binder passing horizontally figure 8-wise about the key objects and crossing therebetween tightly to wedge the same between the aforesaid groups in the nested relation relative to objects therein.

2. A transportation load of cylindrical objects standing on end in a railway car comprising a plurality of the cylindrical objects standing on end in nested relation and 50 substantially filling each end of the car that they cannot move relatively to each other sufliciently to destroy the nested relationship, two of the objects substantially in the center of the car being tied together by a continuous flexible tensioned binder passed figure 8-wise horizontally thereabout.

3. A transportation load of cylindrical objects standing on end in a railway car comprising a plurality of cylindrical objects standing on end and forming two groups, one group occupying each end of the car and each group including a terminal object, a pair of key cylindrical objects standing on end in the space between the two groups and nesting with the terminal objects, and a flexible tensioned binderpassing horizontally figure 8-wise about the key objects and crossing therebetween to retain the key objects in nesting relationship to the terminal objects.

4. A transportation load of rolls for railway cars comprising a plurality of rolls standing on end on the car floor, the rolls being segregated into two groups, one group occupying each end of the car, a pair of key-rolls located between the groups and occupying a nested relationship with at least one roll of each group, and a tensioned flexible binder looped figure 8-wise about and crossing between the key-rolls to hold the keyrolls in such nested relationship. I

5. The method of preparing a transportation load of cylindrical objects for transit in a railway car which consists of substantially filling each end of the car with rolls standing on end, locating a pair of key-rolls in nested relationship to rolls of the two groups, looping a flexible binder figure 8-wise about the key-rolls and crossing it between them, tensioning the looped binder upon the key-rolls sufilciently to prevent the key-rolls from moving out of the nested relationship to rolls of the groups, and joining the ends of the looped binder to make the loop permanent.

JOHN M. MOON. 

